The Red House

I am definitely writing my posts for this weekend in reverse chronological order, kind of like that Seinfeld episode where they go to India for the wedding 😉 I hadn’t planned on writing a post on running yesterday, but I thought it needed to be written. Anyway, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I spent Friday afternoon in Cambridge attending an event held by Oldways, followed by a lovely late afternoon wander around Harvard Square.

Cardullo’s, also known as gourmet international heaven on earth (at least to me) was having a Friday German beer tasting. I am really not one to say no to a tasting, so I went in, and after browsing the selections of cheese, chocolate, and tea, headed to the back to sample some beer.

The beers of the day were from Weihenstephan, the oldest brewery in the world. I missed the light beer, thanks to a couple of people lacking tasting etiquette (Hello, take your taste and step away from the table! You won’t miss anything if your stomach isn’t touching the table, I promise. And really, “excuse me” is a polite way of saying “Move!”)

I moved straight on to the dark beer which was delicious and reminded me of all of the dark beer we drank in Germany and Austria. The chef at Cardullo’s had made tasty little potato skin-like treats using red bliss potatoes, the Weihenstephan beer, and two cheeses currently being featured at Cardullo’s. Blissful mouthfuls of cheesy potato goodness!

After leaving Cadrullo’s I did some shopping in the square. In anticipation for my run, I bought a few bath bombs at Lush.

I took this photo before I got in trouble! Apparently Lush does not want anyone taking photos in their stores. Probably part of the war on terror or something 😉 Honestly I can’t imagine why they have such a policy. I bought a bunch of stuff so it wasn’t like I just walked in to take photos. Anyway I got the blue bath bomb on the top row which contains seaweed minerals and actual bits of dried seaweed. It was a nice post-run treat.

It was getting chilly out, and I was happy when my husband arrived and we went to The Red House restaurant for dinner. I have been wanting to eat at The Red House for YEARS, so it was perfect timing that I was in Harvard Square and they had a reservation open.

The inside of The Red House is very cozy with dim lighting, candles, pillows on the banquettes, and different fabrics covering the menus and wine lists.

In the mood for beer, I had a Sixpoint Brownstone ale, a delicious dark beer that I sipped throughout the meal.

To start, we shared the fried oysters with greens, pickled onions, and a nice bacon-y vinaigrette. The oysters were plump and briny, they went really well with the bite of the onions and smokiness of the bacon.

For my entree, I ordered the lobster risotto.

It was rich and creamy and full of chunks of lobster, some perfectly cooked and some very chewy. Overall, this dish had potential to be amazing, but it unfortunately had a HUGE amount of black pepper in it. I love freshly ground black pepper, but this was a tongue paralyzing, throat tickling, eyes watering amount of black pepper. I feel like that drowned out the subtle, sweet lobster and risotto flavors which was unfortunate. Based on the quality of the appetizer, the beer, the atmosphere, and the great service I would go back to The Red House, but I wouldn’t order the risotto.

Hanging out in Harvard Square was a great way to kick off the weekend and a good reminder that I need to visit the area more often.

Have you done anything fun or eaten anything delicious this weekend?

Today I am resting up for the week. There will be blogging, laundry, and hopefully power yoga. The week ahead is looking like lots of fun: Restaurant Week reservations at Rialto, St. Patrick’s Day, babysitting a friend’s nephew, and then jetting off to wine country for my birthday weekend! Woohoo!